About California Gifted Network

Our Story

The California Gifted Network provides a forum to bring together gifted individuals and their families with professionals and organizations who endeavor to meet the social, emotional, educational, and physical needs of gifted and twice-exceptional individuals in California.

Lisa and Joanna met at a SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) Conference, and after sharing their similar frustrations and challenges in parenting gifted and twice-exceptional children, they realized that although California has a wealth of gifted resources, trying to find and utilize them was daunting. They decided to form the California Gifted Network in order to create a comprehensive, user – friendly place for the California gifted community to find resources, information, and support.

Our Team

Joanna Haase is a psychotherapist in Pasadena with over 20 years of experience, who enjoys working with gifted individuals and their families. Dr. Haase specializes in Eating Disorders, Anxiety, and Depression. As both a professional psychologist and the mother of two twice - exceptional children (children who have both high ability and a disability), she was frustrated by the difficulties of finding support for these individuals. In addition to working with gifted individuals, and speaking to parents and educators about gifted issues, Dr. Haase is also certified by SENG as a parent support group facilitator. She is the co-founder of the California Gifted Network. Her work for CGN includes teacher in-service training; parent education; teacher and parent presentations; and program consultation, evaluation, and design.

Dr. Lisa Hancock earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is a registered Psychological Assistant at Summit Center where she provides neuropsychological assessments, counseling, and therapy to children, teens, families, and adults. She specializes in working with twice-exceptional children, those who are gifted and have concurrent learning or developmental challenges, as well as with individuals who are highly gifted. She has worked as a Gifted Advocate for many years helping families of gifted and twice-exceptional children navigate both public and private school systems; has taken Master's level coursework in gifted education; and holds her MBA. She is certified by SENG as a parent support group Trainer and Master Facilitator; served for five years on her district's Gifted and Talented Education Advisory Board; is a former Board member of PG retreat and currently serves on the Application Review Team; is a proposal reader for the NAGC; and speaks regularly at local, state, and national gifted conferences. Dr. Hancock is the co-founder of the California Gifted Network where she works with administrators to design and implement educational and social programming for gifted children; provides teacher in-service training; and conducts parent education workshops.